Return to Mother Goose Land

Ok…last post, I talked about finding the ruins of Mother Goose Land in Canton, Ohio. However, without any sort of context, that story is really pretty meaningless.

Honestly, most of my memories of the place come from pictures. If you ask me about the park, I remember seeing the whale, and I remember falling off of a firetruck they had on display, and that’s about it. However, when I hear other people talk about it, or when I look at the pictures, memories come flooding back. Here is what I remember about the park:

This is right outside the park. I’m the one in the green shirt. This wall is not there anymore.

We’re not in Canton anymore…

Here’s a pic of Willie the Whale in all his glory…

And here are my brother and I visiting Willie!

So, the other day, I went back to visit the park and get some decent shots. Here’s what I saw…

Under the bridge that leads there. Ominous.

The gate is locked. Luckily, the bike path runs around the gate. No trespassing? Try to stop me!

Willie!!!!

On the other side, some of the buildings still stand. I heard that this side of the park became an armory for a while after the park closed.

More buildings.

It’s weird going back there and seeing the entire park gutted. Still, I’m glad they left the whale and a few buildings as a monument to what used to be…

19 Responses to “Return to Mother Goose Land”

The pictures are priceless! There is one of these in Wisconsin Dells except there it’s called Storybook Gardens and as a little girl I always wanted to go. I carried the pamphlet around with me. http://www.storybookgardens.net/storybook.html

Awwwwsum! Kelly and I used to talk all the time about going to find the remains of Mother Goose land! So cool that you “found”it on your bike ride. Like everybody else who grew up in Stark County in the 1980s, I have quite a few photos of me and my sister standing around Mother Goose Land in its Reagan-era glory. And like you, I remember the photos more than actually *being* there. My parents have similar nostalgia for Meyer’s Lake Park, which my father, who grew up in Navarre, always describes by saying that he and his sisters felt “so excited” to go there.

Hey Kurt, if your parents have any pics from being at Meyer’s Lake I’d love to have them scanned and emailed to me if you can! I loved Meyer’s Lake, spent Summers there from the age of 3 up to 19 and only have like 2 pics and now I can’t find them! Jason can give you my email if you have any pics!
Thanks!

Yeah, I feel bad that I missed out on Meyer’s Lake Park. You know how I love my amusement parks.
I like to hear about Canton nostalgia. My mum and dad didn’t grow up around here, so I never got to hear about these things.

my grandmother used to take care of mrs sinclair when iwas a kid i remember she was very nice and she had a siant bernard who i played with we would go to the park and have fun i was maybe7 or8 so i have only a few memories of the place but i do remember the rocket ship that went over the lake scary when your 7 but have no photos or anything just a few memeories too bad its all gone now!!

Is this the park that had a long wall with a bunch of windows in it with different scenes in each window, like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears story? I also remember a cow statue that you could “milk”???????????

Yes, I remember the “house” that had several windows with Goldilocks and such. They had the 3 little pig houses with actual pigs running around. There was a pumpkin you could look into that was for Peter, Peter the Pumpkin Eater and a little cave you could walk into and see Ali Baba and the 7 thieves bunch of fake stones and coins. It’s been so long that I can’t remember too much else at the moment.

Hey Kurt! I like you decided to explore the remains of MGL. Just being there helped bring back my memories. Wanted to tell you that some of the old statues have been located. I guess they are at Sluggers and Putters Sports Park in Canal Fulton. I have not made it there to see them but have completed some research on the MGL.
Oh and on my blog, I created a memory slide show from photos I “borrowed” from doing a google image search.
hope you dont mind, but some of your photos made it to my blog. Anyway, glad to find another fan of MGL.

I am 29 and I have never seen the mother goose Land you talk about I only knew that there was a wale always sitting there and he sits there today. I had always wanted to see what it looked like when it was called Mother Goose Land. I enjoyed your story. Like all things in Canton Ohio they have gone from the good old days to what I call forgotten times and the new generation has not been thought to take care of things that bring memories. It is ashamed it is just a piece of land sitting. It would be really neat to see that restored. I am such a sentimental person so things like that get my attention and when I saw Willie today I thought I will look that up when I get home witch lead me here. Thanks Jenna Massillon resident.

Totally agree with you Jenna. It’s a shame that land is sitting there and not being used. I loved Mother Gooseland as a kid and wish the area could be reopened for the same purpose, or better. Probably would cost the city or whoever too much.

in the 50s and early 60s our family would drive from southern ohio to visit my dads family in the canton area. about twice a year or less we would drive past the Mother Goose Land park and i so wanted to stop and enjoy it and explore. We were in too big of a hurry and we were on a mission to visit family and not go to amusement parks! i never got to visit there also i could see from the street a glimpse in the long narrow park of humpty dumpty and a few other interesting sights. my canton cousins told me i didnt miss a thing! they say they went to MGL on school outings.
thanks for these pictures of a place long gone that i never got to enjoy!
p miller

HEY!!!! I just came across something that said they are doing a GRAND OPENING of MOTHER GOOSE LAND IN MAY 2014!!! I think the 2nd…they have a Facebook-check it out!! :) Lets give support and bring it back to life! (donations are needed btw and theres a link I think)